Prenuptial Agreements: Time for Kiss and Tell

It’s wedding season—time for celebrations, gifts, friends, family and endless photo opps. But something that’s becoming a more frequent part of wedding planning these days—Prenuptial Agreements.

So who needs a Prenuptial Agreement?

Young married couples without property or investments probably don’t need a Prenup—there are no assets to protect from the other spouse. But for a couple who may be getting married later in life, when they’ve had time to build their careers and their portfolios, accumulate assets and perhaps a child or two, a Prenuptial Agreement is a very good thing.

An example: A couple with an age disparity

An excellent example is a couple who recently came into our Oakland office to get a Prenuptial Agreement. He was 40, an architect and homeowner with two preteen children and assorted investments. She was 28, never married, just beginning to enjoy some success as a recruiter, with very little in the way of assets. She was clearly not happy about the Prenup—at 28, she didn’t fully grasp the business/partnership aspect of marriage. He, on the other hand, had been through a difficult divorce and was both more seasoned and realistic. His first responsibility was to his children, and he wanted to make sure that if something happened to him, his kids were taken care of.

The necessity for full disclosure

The economics of the Bay Area mean that many couples live together before getting married and are used to sharing expenses—which this couple had been doing. But in many cases, they simply contribute to household expenses without full disclosure of their assets or financial history. This is a long way from what marriage is all about—the merging of lives and bank accounts, learning to make important decisions together about how to spend money, raise children, etc.

The Prenuptial Agreement can be an awkward conversation . . .

Our Prenuptial Agreement helps couples—even reluctant couples—understand that by working through this Agreement, making compromises and solving problems together, they are laying the foundation for dealing with other difficult situations that will inevitably arise during the course of their marriage. Happily, this couple was able to create a legal document that provided for both the husband-to-be’s sons as well as his fiancé. Our California Document Preparers team is sensitive and skilled at assisting couples with Prenuptials Agreements.

If you’re getting married and have assets that you want to protect, you’re part of a growing community. Come in to one of our California Document Preparers three convenient Bay Area offices: Walnut Creek, Oakland or Dublin.